Thursday, December 16, 2010

IZOD IndyCar Series veteran Graham Rahal, and Firestone Indy Lights driver Charlie Kimball have both signed with Chip Ganassi for a 2011 full-season campaign.

The 25-year-old Kimball will pilot the #83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing entry, while Rahal will run the #38 Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara.

The 21-year-old Rahal signed on with TBC Retail Group, parent company of Service Central, Tire Kingdom, Big-O tires among others, last October to pilot a 2011 Service Central branded entry. Charlie Kimball, who became 1 of 23.6 million Americans with diabetes when he was diagnosed in 2007, brings sponsor Novo Nordisk to the IZOD IndyCar Series after many years of sponsoring the young American over the past couple season in Firestone Indy Lights competition.

The 2-car addition to Indianapolis 500 winner's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti expands Chip Ganassi's stable to 4-cars, however Ganassi described the structure as two 2-car operations. Both Kimball and Rahal's entries will be ran out of NHRA legend Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme's shop in Brownsburg, just a hand-full of miles West of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In a Thursday afternoon teleconference, team manager Mike Hull said that the team had purchased additional equipment for the expanded operation.